Digital Rights Weekly | July 10 - 14

Team CommUNITY team at digitalrights.community
Thu Jul 13 20:01:10 CEST 2023 

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of July 10 - 14. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Take a look at our Digital Rights Regional Briefs of June!!

Our Community Leads from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and MENA, bring
critical information about digital justice issues around the globe,
current opportunities for digital rights defenders, community news,
regional developments, and more! This month, in Africa, you will
navigate the histories, presents and futures of technology’s
connectivity paradoxes. We are also exploring questions and solutions
for inclusivity and anti-casteism in the digital rights movements in
Asia. From Latin America, you will read what the Colombian digital
rights organization, Karisma, recommends for the delivery apps’
algorithms in order to improve platforms workers’ well-being. The MENA
brief delves into AI and how it is unfolding in the region’s various
surveillance systems. Check all this and more on the link below:

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsjune2023


2. RSVP for “The Wellbeing Monthly” series: Once a month join a
psychosocial educational workshop designed for digital rights
defenders!

Join "The Wellbeing Monthly", a monthly virtual educational workshop
series led by diverse mental health professionals. The online series
will run from June to December and are free of charge, and  focus on
psychoeducation and coping mechanisms on diverse topics including
anxiety and fear, guilt and survivors guilt, defeat and hopelessness,
trauma, and burnout and stress. Each month we will be announcing new
speakers, so check regularly! RVSP for August workshop:

August 8, "Responding to Defeat and Creating Communities of Hope":
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly3


3. Glitter Meetups Season Break: They Will Resume on October 5!

This Thursday July 13, we had our last Glitter Meetup for the season.
We will resume on October 5, so stay tuned. We want to take the
opportunity to thank all our featured guests and Team CommUNITY's
staff who have made Glitter Meetups amazing, glittertastic spaces for
our community!


4. How we are Approaching Safety, Security and Challenges for the
Global Gathering

Find out how we are approaching the 2023 Global Gathering to address
real challenges that impact safety and security of participants. This
year’s edition is part of a  3-year vision to grow the GG in a
sustainable way. The event is less than three months away, and will be
used to collectively brainstorm not just how the GG will evolve, but
also the standards we want to see in our field of practice.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/2023-global-gathering-how-we-are-approaching-safety-security-and-challenges

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. Applications for the 2023/24 Landecker Democracy Fellowship

The Landecker Democracy Fellowship annually supports diverse
changemakers in unpacking and addressing historic and contemporary
systems of inequity. The 2023/24 cohort will bring together 24 Fellows
to realize project ideas around the theme of democracy and the
politics of memory. Deadline: August 6, 2023.

https://humanityinaction.org/landeckerdemocracyfellowship-apply/


2. Call for Grant Making Applications: Leading from the South

AWDF is a Pan African organization which launched a Grant Making Cycle
prioritizing applications from women led organizations that have been
formally registered for at least three years and work in French
speaking countries. For this round of grant making, AWDF will award
grants for an amount between $20,000 per year to $500,000 per year.
Deadline: 8th August 8, 2023.

https://awdf.org/call-for-applications-leading-from-the-south/


3. Women’s Fund Asia's Strengthening Feminist Movement Grantmaking Programme

Women’s Fund Asia, through its Strengthening Feminist Movement (SFM)
grantmaking programme, supports women, girls,  trans, and intersex
rights activists, groups, and networks, working at the local,
subnational, and national levels in countries in Asia. Deadline: July
31, 2023 at 2:00 pm Sri Lanka Time.

https://www.womensfundasia.org/SFMCall/


4. Virtual School of Internet Governance

The Spanish version of the Virtual School of Internet Governance is
now taking registration for September start date. Sign up through the
registration link:

https://tinyurl.com/yc8h4had


5. DRAPAC23 Public Outcomes Report: Advancing Digital Rights in the
Asia-Pacific region

The public outcomes report for the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific
Assembly (DRAPAC23) is out now! Last May, the Assembly brought
together over 500 participants from 35 countries to build knowledge,
collaborations, and momentum around digital rights. The participants
from broad sectors of civil society included digital and human rights
advocates, journalists, media-makers, artists, designers,
technologists, youth advocates, and representatives from marginalized
communities. Review the public outcomes report on the following link:

https://engagemedia.org/2023/drapac23-public-report/

______________________________________________

### Digital Rights Resources ###


1. Columbia Journalism Review: How to Report Better on Artificial Intelligence

Some reporters have done amazing workholding the companies developing
AI accountable, but many struggle to report on this new technology in
a fair and accurate way. An investigative reporter, a data journalist,
and a computer scientist put together a short guide on what they have
learned from their firsthand experience investigating AI:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/how-to-report-better-on-artificial-intelligence.php


2. Freedom of Press Foundation publicó guías traducidas al Español
sobre seguridad digital

Entre sus guías sobre diversos temas relacionados con la seguridad
digital en inglés, han traducido una selección de manuales al español
y adaptado su alcance en ambos idiomas para hacerlas más relevantes a
la audiencia latina. “Autenticación de dos factores para
principiantes”, “¿Cómo elegir un gestor de contraseñas?”, “Signal Para
Principiantes”, “Protección avanzada para Signal”, y “Aumenta la
seguridad de tu WhatsApp”, son algunas de las guías que podrás
encontrar en el siguiente enlace:

https://freedom.press/training/guias-en-espanol/

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###

1. Continuous Censorships & Surveillance Under Egypt’s Military State

The submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child included
a Human Rights Watch report from April 2023 on the Egyptian government
and a private British company’s exposure of vast amounts of personal
information about tens of thousands of children online for months. The
exposure violated children’s privacy, exposed them to the risk of
serious harm, and appeared to violate Egypt’s data protection laws.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/06/egypt-submission-un-committee-rights-child

The Egyptian regime had obtained an open-source intelligence platform
from an Israeli company, which would enhance its ability to monitor
websites and means of communication and pursue its opponents. It
monitors social networks and also determines the geographical location
of the target using data from social networks, as well as the avatar
management system.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230711-the-means-of-communication-in-egypt-more-restrictions-and-censorship/


2. Activists in the Philippines Fight Back as Online Threats Rise

When hackers targeted independent Filipino news outlet Bulatlat.com,
flooding its website with a torrent of rogue traffic, staff had to
rely on digital forensics experts in Sweden to track down the
perpetrators. Whether targeting ordinary people, journalists or
activists, online threats from doxxing to domain blocking and digital
surveillance are rising in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian
nations, highlighting a lack of resources and expertise to fight them.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/12/asia-pacific/crime-legal-asia-pacific/philippines-activists-online-threats-rise/


3. Uganda Imposes Levy on Foreign Digital Companies’ Income

Uganda's parliament passed a new tax law that imposes a 5% levy on
income earned in the country by foreign providers of digital
communications services such as Twitter and Meta's Facebook.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-imposes-levy-foreign-digital-companies-income-2023-07-12/

4. AI Moderation is No Match for Hate Speech in Ethiopian Languages
New research raises concerns that moderation tools can't detect
violent threats in Tigray and elsewhere.

https://restofworld.org/2023/ai-content-moderation-hate-speech/


5. The Human Cost of AI in EU-Africa’s Migration Surveillance

In two recently-published reports, EuroMed Rights, Statewatch and
independent researcher Antonella Napolitano have investigated the
human and financial costs of AI in migration. The reports show how the
deployment of AI to manage migration flows actively contribute to the
instability of the Middle East and North African region as well as
discriminatory border procedures and the deaths of thousands each
year.

https://euobserver.com/opinion/157253


6. Iranians Migrate from Twitter to Threads in Millions

Threads, a microblogging platform provided by Meta, has attracted a
significant number of Iranian users.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202307076697

But as millions of people flock to the Threads app, cyber crime
experts warn users to be on the lookout for privacy issues. The app
was put on hold in other countries - it's not available in the
European Union, which has strict data privacy laws. Threads collects
information on user finances, browning history, location, contacts,
and health.

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/threads-app-safe-safety-privacy-and-data-concerns-meta/


7. EU Trilogues: The AI Act Must Protect People’s Rights

As European Union institutions begin trilogue negotiations, civil
society calls on EU institutions to ensure the Regulation puts people
and fundamental rights first in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI
Act).

https://www.amnesty.eu/news/eu-trilogues-the-ai-act-must-protect-peoples-rights/


8. AI Comic ‘Inside AI - An Algorithmic Adventure

In the framework of UNESCO’s work to harness emerging technology for
sustainable development, the publication, ‘Inside AI – An Algorithmic
Adventure’ is a graphic novel aimed at making the digital world more
accessible to the youth and enable them to understand the impact of
Artificial Intelligence on humankind and the ethics therein.

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/launch-unesco-ai-comic-strip-inside-ai-algorithmic-adventure


9. How Musk’s Twitter is Jeopardizing War Crimes Investigations

Once one of the most accessible platforms for external researchers
seeking data to investigate human rights abuses, war crimes, and other
international law violations, Twitter’s erratic policymaking under
Musk may now hamper investigations into international crimes. The
policy decisions may also have serious unintended consequences for
communities often targeted by governments, such as activists,
journalists, and human rights defenders reporting from crises and
armed conflicts.

https://techpolicy.press/how-musks-twitter-is-jeopardizing-war-crimes-investigations/


10. Countries Agree to Extend Digital Services Tax Freeze Through 2024

More than 140 countries were supposed to start implementing next year
a 2021 deal overhauling decades-old rules on how governments tax
multinationals that are widely considered to be outdated as digital
giants like Apple or Amazon can book profits in low-tax countries.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/countries-agree-extend-digital-services-tax-freeze-through-2024-2023-07-12/


11. Russia is Trying to Leave the Internet and Build Its Own

Last week the Russian government tried to disconnect its Internet
infrastructure from the larger global Web. This test of Russia’s
“sovereign Internet” seemingly failed, causing outages that suggest
the system is not ready for practical use.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/russia-is-trying-to-leave-the-internet-and-build-its-own/


12. Opinion: How a Bill to Protect Children Online Threatens Artists

Decried by human and digital rights groups, the EARN IT Act threatens
to undermine privacy and freedom of expression online.

https://hyperallergic.com/833262/how-a-bill-to-protect-children-online-threatens-artists/


13. Singapore under the Pandemic: The Normalisation of Digital Authoritarianism

Over the past decade, the Singaporean government has geared up its
surveillance capacities by using avant-garde technology to monitor
civilians. It claims that these technologies will help keep
Singaporean society safe and secure. Civil society organizations
(CSOs), however, raised concerns over the rights to privacy and the
People’s Action Party (PAP) administration advancing to become a
digital authoritarian regime.
https://engagemedia.org/2023/pandemic-control-singapore/


14. June Pride Parades and the Digital Ripple Effects on LGBTIQA+ Rights

June Prides in Bosnia, North Macedonia, and Croatia were marked by
violence, divisive legislation and societal divisions, while Albania
faced privacy breaches and exam leaks. Hungary experienced DDoS
attacks on independent news sites, and Romania saw arrests for sex
trafficking. In Kosovo and Montenegro, misinformation and online
insults reflected political hostility and divisions.

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/07/07/june-pride-parades-and-the-digital-ripple-effects-on-lgbtiq-rights/


15. Towards the Next Technological Transition: Commission Presents EU
Strategy to Lead on Web 4.0 & Virtual Worlds

The EU Commission has adopted a new strategy on Web 4.0 and virtual
worlds to steer the next technological transition and ensure an open,
secure, trustworthy, fair and inclusive digital environment for EU
citizens, businesses and public administrations.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3718

_________________________________________________

### Grants, Fellowships, & Awards ###

The following opportunities are open to individual digital rights
defenders and to organizations. If you would like us to include a
grant, fellowship or award in this newsletter, please email details to
team at digitalrights.community
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/Fundraising_Opportunities

Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in Europe Support
Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: July 20, 2023
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

European Artificial Intelligence & Society Fund
Ecosystem Grants Programme
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://europeanaifund.org/newspublications/our-ecosystem-grants-programme-is-now-open/

The CYRILLA Collaborative: Call For Proposals
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://smex.org/the-cyrilla-collaborative-call-for-proposals/

Strengthening Feminist Movements
Women’s Fund Asia
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://www.womensfundasia.org/SFMCall/

Landecker Democracy Fellowship
Deadline: August 6, 2023
https://humanityinaction.org/landeckerdemocracyfellowship-apply/

Leading from the South
AWDF
Deadline: August 8, 2023
https://awdf.org/call-for-applications-leading-from-the-south/

Digital Rights Research Grant
PrivacyCo
Deadline: Rolling
https://www.top10vpn.com/research-grant/

Sovereign Tech Fund
Deadline: Rolling
https://sovereigntechfund.de/en/applications/

Incident Emergency Fund
Digital Defenders Partnership
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.digitaldefenders.org/incident-emergency-fund/

Safety Net Fund
Deadline: Ongoing
https://wphfund.org/whrds-safety-net/

Rapid Response Fund
Derechos Digitales
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.derechosdigitales.org/sobre-el-fondo-de-respuesta-rapida/

Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://urgentactionfund.org/

Urgent Action Fund - Asia & Pacific
Deadline: Rolling
https://www.uafanp.org/our_grants

Open Briefing’s Responsive Assistance
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.openbriefing.org/support/referral/
_________________________________________________

### Events Calendar ###

(The Wellbeing Monthly) Survivor Guilt, Regret Rumination and How to
Cope with them as an Activist
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
July 18, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly2

(Lingua Cafe) Found in Translation: Lingua Cafe Chats
Team CommUNITY
11am EDT / 3pm UTC
July 19, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Lingua_Cafe,_July_19,_2023

LATAM Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
6:30pm EDT / 10:30pm UTC
July 26, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=26_de_Julio,_2023_LATAM

MENA Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
July 27, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_27_2023,_MENA_Meetup

Africa Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
July 27, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_27_2023,_Africa_Meetup

Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute
July 31 - August 11, 2023
Oxford, USA
http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute-2023/

(The Wellbeing Monthly) Responding to Defeat and Creating Communities of Hope
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
August 8, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly3

Freedom Not Fear
September 1- 4, 2023
Brussels
https://freedomnotfear.org

Virtual School on Internet Governance
September 4 - November 25, 2023
Online
https://www.virtualsig.org/2023/05/30/vsig-registration-now-open/

The Global Gathering
Team CommUNITY
September 15 - 17, 2023
Portugal
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/announcing-team-communitys-global-gathering

Check out a list of our virtual events here:
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/Calendar_of_Events
_________________________________________________

### NEW Job Opportunities  ###

Below is a short list of jobs sent to us in the last week.

Want to see more jobs? OR Have a job opening you want us to promote?
Check out the Team CommUNITY Job Board:
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board

✎ Research Associate for Democracy Studies | Freedom House
+  NYC, NY or Washington, DC, USA
https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=FREEHOUS&cws=1&rid=1379

✎ Video Presenter [German and English-speaking] | CHAYN
+  Remote
https://chayn.notion.site/Video-presenter-German-and-English-speaking-489cab00ade24aefbe0e7a4e3a355fd5

✎  Consultant (Holistic Safety & Security) | Initiative Sankofa
d’Afrique de l’Ouest – ISDAO
+  Remote in West Africa
https://isdao.org/en/offer/call-for-holistic-safety-and-security-consultancy/

If you feel like sending some digital glitter our way, or need further
assistance, feel free to reply to this message.
_________________________________________________

### Know someone that wants to subscribe to our newsletter? ###

They can sign up here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Want to partner with us?###

If you have any questions or want to learn more about partnerships,
get in touch at team at digitalrights.community. We are always looking
for like-minded organizations and people.

(((Hugs & light)))

--
Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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